True Tales of Tails
by HumanAvianHybridsRock
Summary: This is a story about a girl named Layla, she is a mermaid! NOT same story line as H20 Just Add Water! Enjoy! :-)
1. Chapter 1 On The Run

Chapter 1 On The Run

by: HumanAvianHybridsRock

I swam as fast and hard as my turquoise-violet tail would allow. With hard strokes of my fluke, I sped through the water faster than a shark on a rampage. I was running away from my careless mother (more on that later); ever since she had adopted me from the orphanage I started to discover who I truly was... A mermaid! Cool huh? I knew there was something about me that wasn't human. Like the time when I was four, my foster parents took me to the public pool. I discovered I could hold my breath for five minutes... I would've held it much longer if the lifeguard hadn't dove in for me... What a scene that was! That was probably the most attention I had ever received in my life, in just one day! At the time I was living with my kind and loving foster parents, they had five sons that were constantly fighting, so I was the least of their worries.

After I was adopted when I was age six, things really looked down because my new adoptive mother. But then in my adolescent years is when I really started to discover I was mer... Life after that got WAY more exciting, keeping my secret and all. And I began to wonder if there was anyone else like me. That was one of the reasons I was on the run, to see if I could find my TRUE kind; you know other mermaids. But mostly because of my mother, she whom doesn't know how to raise children properly makes me do all the chores around the house... My Mom (Amy) was always out of the house, to busy with friends... And according to Amy, her husband or my suppose-to-be-adoptive-father (Tom) left after he found out Amy had adopted me, Layla. Great father right? So my family life pretty much sucks. I thought what the heck, might as well leave right? My Mom probably wouldn't realize I was gone until she got back on Sunday evening from her friend's house. You may ask, am I ashamed of myself for leaving my Mom? Nope! She never cared about me anyway. I have no idea why she adopted me! I would've been way better with the Gandoffs (my foster family with five boys, I forget their names). So as you can see I had my reasons for ditching her.

It was a Friday night, so I wanted to get as far away from our home on the Small island of Kauai in Hawaii as possible (the more distance between, my wretched mother and me, the better). My next stop was the Johnston Atoll; I planned my trip online, thanks to Google Maps! I would be in Australia within a week or more; hopefully. I will then change my identity, finish school, and make a new beginning! Along with me, I brought in a water proof backpack with the following:

1.) my money, $500 (all my savings, a lot for a 14 year old, huh?)

2.) a couple changes of clothes

3.) A LOT of bottled water

4.) some nuts

5.) dry pasta (carbs are pure energy for swimming!).

6.) my Dell Inspiron Mini (full battery sealed in a watertight bag.)

7.) a pot for cooking pasta

8.) dried fruit.

9.) a digital watch

10.) a couple towels (for warmth)

11.) a sweatshirt

This in all probably weighed 20-25 Lbs. which is favorable for my fast rate travel, traveling light gives you the advantage.

Before I left the condo, I made my house look like a crime scene happened so that my Mom will think I was kidnapped or something. I pictured her with a look of anguish when she got back from her friend's house, where she spends EVERY freakin' weekend. She then will truly be guilty for all these years of ignoring her so called "daughter." If she only knew how much pain she has caused me! She will soon find out!

Anyway, I am now high-tailing my mer butt to Australia! Nice pun huh? No one is laughing except me? Oh, okay then awkward silence... Did I ever mention that I don't have any friends back in Hawaii? Why? Their rich snobs, they have more money than brains. They always teased me for being at the top of my class! But then here's the best part, I am a mermaid, which is something humans LONG to be. So sometimes in my mind I rub it in, not out loud of course, this is a DARK secret. Not even my smart alec mother, who convinced the government to let us live on a well-fair income and food stamps (Which correct me if I am wrong, for disabled people right? Mom isn't disabled), knows that I am a mermaid. I don't know how she does it because for a living, she works at Wal-Mart, and she managed to rent us a condo that overlooked the beach, which is something only rich neurosurgeons can afford. Geese talk about taking advantage of the system right?!

As I saw a little, tiny sandbar I slowed my pace, and crawled with my tail on top of the sandbar for a rest! Checking the time on my watch, the clock had shown 3:00 AM, I had left my condo at 3:00 PM. You see, I got out of school at 12:00 with no homework because it was a half day which allowed for about 3 hours of planning and packing. So doing all the math, I calculated that I had swam 800 miles in just a little over 10-13 hours! New record! As I covered myself with a towel and put on my sweatshirt, I smiled at my new accomplishment. Then I drifted off to sleep dreaming of my good life that was to come. BTW for those of you worry a lot like I do, you're not alone! ;-) My tail transforms back to legs within 20 minutes of being out of water.


	2. Chapter 2 Human Encounters

Chapter 2 Human Encounters

by: HumanAvianHybridsRock

As I woke up, I snacked on some nuts and dried fruit for breakfast. I then calculated that I only had 60 miles until I reached the Johnston Atoll! So within an hour or so I could easily be there! When I arrived at the atoll, I would plan the rest of my trip from there. I stood up on the sandbar to stretch; I then stepped in to the salty ocean water, after 5 minutes I made my total transformation from human to mermaid. I packed everything in my backpack including my sweatshirt, and pushed myself into the water.

About 5 miles away from the atoll, I noticed I was beginning to enter into a coral reef. I saw vibrantly colored fish, and rough looking coral, and my worst fear... Sharks, I sensed aggression in their eyes. I tried to stay clear of any sharks or fish; because if a feeding frenzy started then I didn't want to be in the center of it all. As I reached more shallow waters, I slowed the pace of my swimming.

As I washed up on shore, I tried hiding in the rocks to make my laborious 20 minute transformation into a human. I hated walking after long periods of time of just swimming; I literally had to learn to walk all over again. As I stumbled over rocks with my bare feet, I regretted I forgot to bring shoes. But then I found a pair of black flip flops someone left. Yay, problem solved! I tried walking as best as I could up the sand.

To my knowledge I knew, that this island is only about a mile wide, so it didn't take me long to spot the very tiny U.S. Naval Base. This island is owned by the United Sates, good thing. To break an entry, I climbed the fence into the naval base. I walked for about 1/4 of a mile trying to find a store or something to buy sunscreen, because I was burning up and you know some I needed food or whatever. I walked down a gravel path until I reached a very old, run down road, which I think was supposed to be the "main street" or something. On this "main street" there was only a general store that included a coffee shop, a grocery outlet, a burger joint called Johnston's Best Burgers, and small rundown school house/church building. I figured not many people live on an island this remote, so they probably didn't have many kids attending school at the small school house.

As I walked into the grocery outlet, I walked to the pharmacy section, I found sunscreen, priced at $5.00 (geese what a rip off, must cost a lot to ship it out here). Then I went to the deli and picked up a pre-made turkey sandwich (also overpriced at $4.57). The clerk at the cash register was a lady in her mid 30's, I think, and of course there was only one other cash register that was closed.

"How are you doing today?" she said with a fake smile.

"Good" I muttered; I wasn't in the mood for chit-chat.

"What is a young girl like you doing out here on Johnston Island?" she asked as she scanned my items.

"My parents took me here for vacation." I lied.

"Out here? This is a naval base, not a vacation resort." the clerk said matter-of-factly.

"Oh well that's what they told me, I think they are really here on like business or something. I don't know." I lied.

"How long are you here for?" she interrogated.

"Just today, it's just a day trip." I said irritated.

"Oh strange, we usually don't get visitors." the clerk stated.

"Well today you did!" I yelled even more irritated, "Now please, what's my total?!"

"$9.57" she said, trying not to sound irritated.

"Thank you! Bye!" I shouted as I slammed the money down on the counter, and snatched my stuff right up, before she even could think of bagging it. Then I ran towards the doors.

"Geese, talk about Mrs. I-have-to-know-everything," I muttered walking out of the store.

As I walked out on to the "main street," I wondered if the general store coffee shop had any wi-fi; I still needed to plan my next pit stop on my journey to Australia. I peeked in the coffee shop, and sure enough they had wi-fi, but you had to buy a latte to use it. Of course the latte was overpriced like everything else on the menu. When I received my non-fat caramel latte, just the way I liked it; I got out my laptop, turned it on, and put in the wi-fi password on my receipt from the latte.

As I guessed, the wi-fi was really slow; it took a minute just to load a Google Search. Finally it loaded, and I typed into the search bar, "Google Maps." Numerous search results popped up, I clicked the first one, which brought me to Google Maps. As I researched more islands on the way from here to Australia, I planned that next I would stop at the next largest atoll. Rongelap Atoll was an uninhabited island, but who cares I had packed enough food to last me about three more days. You could figure I would come upon an island with more inhabitants within a few days. As I researched more about the island, the pesky clerk who ran the coffee shop nagged me that I would have to buy another latte if I wanted to use anymore wi-fi. Go figure, I hated this island anyway.

"No thanks", I said," I am done anyway."

"Come on, I will give you half on your next latte!" he bargained.

"No, really I am fine." I replied turning off my laptop, and heading towards the door.

"Thank you for everything," I told him.

"Would you like to maybe but a pastry for $6.99?"

"Bye!" I yelled, slamming the door to the coffee shop closed.

I need to get out of this place, people are so annoying here, I thought.

Just then someone, on the street said,

"Hello, you must be from out of town."

"Yeah, my parents are here for business; one day only."

"Now if you excuse me I really must be getting back to my private yacht." I lied.

"Come on, we rarely get visitors here, stay awhile." he suggested.

I had really got passed my breaking point, I was really annoyed.

"You people are so annoying and rude! Your always asking questions when it is none of your business! Now bye! Gosh!" I said in a very rude tone of voice.

"Okay, okay, I will leave you alone." the stranger replied.

As I stumbled in the rocks towards the water to transform into a mermaid, I took a few bites of my turkey sandwich and saved the rest for later. I then slung my backpack on my shoulders, and dove into the water swimming away as I transformed from human to fish.

_Back in Kauai_On Saturday_

Amy unlocked the door, when she walked in she yelled,

"Layla, I am home early! Did you clean the toilet like I asked?"

there was no answer, looking up anger flooded Amy's emotions, the house was a mess.

"Layla, this isn't funny! Why is the house a mess?!" she yelled in anger.

Still no answer.

"Layla!? Where are you!?"

Frazzled Amy, started towards what she called Layla's room, (a huge utility

closet).

"Layla! You answer me the first time Missy!"

Amy looked in Layla's room; there was nothing there except Layla's meager belongings.

"Layla, you're grounded for two weeks if you don't stop messing around with me right now!"

Running through the whole condo, looking for Layla, it wasn't until five minutes later that, she realized why the house was a mess.

Layla had been taken! Shock took a hold of Amy's emotions. Why would such a thing happen to Layla? Frightened and angered Layla's mother called the Kauai Police Department.

"Hello? Is this the police?" Amy said panic-stricken, (not out of love for Layla, rather because no one would be around to do the chores).

"Yes ma'am this is the Kauai Police Department. What is the problem?" the voice said from the other end.

"My adopted daughter has gone missing!" yelled Amy.

"Ma'am is this a joke of some sort? Because if you think_"

"No it isn't, my daughter is literally missing!" Amy interrupted

"Okay we'll dispatch a patrol officer to look at the scene." he said, "What is the address?"

_Back_out_at_sea._

After I had left the Johnston Atoll, I was glad I wouldn't be encountering humans for the next few days... At least while I didn't have too. I swam for about five more hours and stopped for the night on a small sandbar.


	3. Chap 3 The Mysterious Island of Ronge

Chapter 3 The Mysterious Island of Rongelap

by: HumanAvianHybridsRock

As the sun peeked over the endless horizon of the crystal clear waters of the south pacific, I was awakened to a new day. As I smelled the fresh, salty ocean air I instantly felt at home, the refreshing ocean breezes brought comfort to my mind. Not surprising, after all I am a mermaid. Opening up my bag to get something to eat, I realized I hadn't climbed out of the water the night before. I still had a tail, I thought I am in the middle of the ocean, and there was nobody for miles. So did it really matter? I guessed not!

While eating dried fruits for breakfast I calculated from here to Rongelap Island was only about 1,300 miles.. Usually, I can swim between 65 to 70 miles in one hour; doing a bit of division I calculated I could be at Rongelap Island in 19 hours. But that was REALLY straining it for just one day, I can usually only swim 10 to 13 hours a day. But then I thought if maybe I caught an ocean current that maybe it could reduce my time about, say 6 to 7 hours! That would mean only mean 12 to 13 hours of travel, which was totally swimmable for one day. I hoped my predictions were right! One of the pros of being a mermaid is that you literally have a sense of navigation of the ocean, like a bird has sense of direction. And to my knowledge, the nearest current I needed to take was the North Equatorial Current. Yes, just what I needed! I swam in the direction of the current, and soon enough found myself speeding down one of Mother Ocean's fastest interstates towards Rongelap Island.

At 6:00 PM I let the tide push me up towards the beach on Rongelap Island, I of coarse was the only one there; this place was uninhabited. Perfect for a mermaid who hated human intervention! As I watched the sun go lower in the sky, I wanted to find a place to sleep for the night. As I wondered up the beach, I saw a small, L-shaped building a mile and half away on top of a hill in the distance. This surprised me; I thought this place was untouched by humans; at least that is what the internet said. I decided I would see if I could spend the night in that small building, I jogged towards the building.

I reached this mysterious L-shaped building, which had no windows, just a door on every side of the building. As I circled the building looking for way of entry, I finally found a door unlocked. The door knob was a bit jammed and hard to open, but I managed to open the door. When I stepped inside the building it smelled really musty; I could tell this place had been deserted for quite some time. The first room I entered was some sort of like an office space, in the corner there was a chestnut colored desk with a very old computer on top of it. I wondered if the dinosaur still worked. If it did, did it have internet? Probably not. To see if there was electricity, I tried flipping on the light switch; nothing. I then began to look around the building for a generator, as I passed by other rooms I saw old looking filing cabinets, more stuff to flip through! Only as soon as I could find the generator!

Finally I found the generator located in a small fenced off courtyard. I tried looking for an "on switch," after about 15 minutes of fiddling around with it I found something that basically was the "on switch". At first I was doubtful that this generator wouldn't turn on, I held my breath as I flipped the switch. Sure enough, the generator buzzed to life, I was stunned! Yes! Now I would actually have a place for the night with electricity! On a deserted island too! Wow, bonus!

I went inside, and flipped on lights, turned on the heater, and they even had an old looking radio! I could catch up on some news, if there were any radio stations! Sadly I only got static when I turned the dial on the radio. Oh well, I didn't much care, but just to be sure I scanned through a few channels, but there was no signal. I then went into the kitchen, I looked through cabinets; there was food that had expired two years ago. No luck there! But I did find more pasta and nuts, I took those for my travels. (These non-perishable food items stay good forever). Munching on cashews I found in the cabinet, I looked at the time on my digital watch; it was only 7:30 PM. I remembered the filing cabinets from earlier, curious; I decided to look through the files to get some information about this creepy old place.

In the room with the filing cabinets, there were two cabinets lined up side by side, and microscopes on a desk on another wall. But I was mainly interested in the cabinets, which were divided into the two sections of the alphabet. The first cabinet was marked A through M, alike the second cabinet was marked N through Z. I looked in the first cabinet, under H, the first thing I saw stunned me. I pulled out a newspaper article that was yellowing with age; the headline read "Local Hawaiian Fisherman Claim to Have Seen Mermaids of the Coast of Maui." Then opening all the drawers, I noticed that everything here was all related to one thing... Mermaids.

I probably stayed up for 3 hours looking through those files, sorting the ones I wanted to keep into a pile. This to me was golden information; one report in particular though really shocked me. The report told of a mermaid that had washed up on shore with a newborn infant in her arms. This report did not indicate whether the mermaid was dead or alive, it only gave a very detailed description of the infant. I read that the infant was taken to an orphanage in Hawaii; the report didn't specify where in Hawaii though. In the very bottom corner, the date printed on it was March of 1999; 14 years ago. Could this have been me? I resembled the mermaid very much in the picture. This report haunted me, and of course I took it with me.

The next morning my backpack now weighed 30 Lbs; mainly because I was very interested in a lot of the files, so I brought all the ones I wanted most in my bag. As I was about to leave, I left everything as I had seen it before. I now knew this island wasn't totally uninhabited, this island had a deserted laboratory with interesting files. I would come back again, soon. I was not anywhere near done investigating this place; it felt for some odd reason all too much like... home in a very eerie sense.

_Back _in_Kaui._

The police, who had come to the scene just yesterday, sent detectives to the condo. Amy was surprised the cops would go this far for a girl like Layla; timid, not very pretty in Amy's opinion. And if the investigation was going to get very pricey she may end up calling off her adopted daughter's investigation.

As detectives examined the scene, it was baffling. Trying to recreate a scene as tough as this was very difficult and required skill. Because of this, the police determined it would prolong the process.

"We're sorry Ma'am, but this seems to be quite an interesting case." said one of the detectives.

"Will it cost me much?" Amy asked.

"Too early to decide, give it 5 days, then we'll give an estimation."

"Okay," Amy replied, "But please, do whatever it takes."


	4. Chapter 4 Risky Business

Chapter 4 Risky Business

_by:__HumanAvianHybridsRock_

Before I left, I swam to another nearby island; Ailinginae Atoll. I wanted to look at some of the maps that I had taken included in the files to plan my day's journey (Now I don't have to use internet to plan my trip! Yay!). The next island, 800 miles far south of here was Nauru, which on the map said was inhabited. I calculated it would take me more or less 12 hours to swim there, if I caught a current maybe even less time. I know 800 miles in one day sounds impossible, but not for a mermaid.

Looking for a current headed south, I found the South Equatorial Current, but I would have to swim about 100 miles Southwest to hit this current; a little out of my way, but worth it. The current would carry me right near Nauru; All I would have to do is follow the current a little less than 700 miles, then turn off towards Nauru. Genius!

I ate the rest of my turkey sandwich and drank a whole bottle of water before I left on my merry way. Swimming 100 miles took me all of about 45 minutes because I was hot to find the current. Soon enough I came to the current and I noticed I wasn't the only one taking advantage of this efficient way of travel, some dolphins were swimming alongside me, and they were like very playful children. One even let me hitch a ride, I grabbed onto the dorsal fin and the two of us shot through the water. It was quite the experience, until the dolphin remembered not to wonder to far from its pod and turned back. I on the other hand continued ahead for about 2 hours until I saw some sea turtles. The turtles glanced at me, but probably mistook me as a dolphin that wondered to far from its pod. The sea turtles of coarse were gentle beings who meant no harm, they were majestic and graceful in the way they swam. I observed them for 15 minutes in awe as I glided along.

After 4 and half hours of swimming, I came to shallow waters and stopped on a sandbar for a rest; of course there were only miles of endless sea around me. I pulled out some water and drank half the bottle, ate some almonds and swam back towards the current.

It was 7:15 PM local time when I reached Nauru. I was STARVING! I wanted to see if they had a restaurant or something to grab a bite to eat in the small town of Arijejen, Nauru. As I followed a road 2 miles to Waterfront Rd. where there were cute little ocean side gift shops and restaurants, it almost reminded me of home in Kauai (not that I missed it). As I strolled along on the road, I noticed tourists. Nauru was probably a port for cruise ships, so my get up with a tank top, shorts, a swimsuit, and flip flops helped me blend in with my surroundings.

Remembering that this was a foreign country other than the United Sates, I had to make a quick trip to the bank to swap some of my American currency to the Australian currency used on the island. That took me a painful half an hour, because I was VERY hungry from all of my swimming, and there was a line of tourists waiting to exchange currencies. Finally I exchanged $100 in U.S. currency and received 106.83 in Australian dollars.

There was a restaurant/bar called the Denig Oval, which was again packed with annoying tourists! Arg! I had to wait impatiently for 45 minutes to sit down. When I finally was seated, the waitress came to take my order she looked at me funny...

"Are you waiting for someone?" she asked.

"No." I gulped.

"Why are you here on your own?" she questioned with a suspicious facial expression.

"Because, I am just really short for my age, I am really 16." I lied.

"Oh, ah, okay." she said, "Wait here for a moment will you?"

"Sure, no problem." I said as kindly as I could muster.

Oh great I thought, now she's gonna get the manager out here and make a huge scene. Sure enough she came back with a guy say around age 45? He was short and stubby very chubby looking too; his name tag read "Fredrick, Manager".

"Hi, I am Fredrick" he said with a smile.

"Um, hi." I said nervously.

"Do you understand that this is a bar young lady?" he asked.

"Ah, well, kind of." I replied

"And do you know that if you are under the age of 18, you are considered a minor? And the local law states that you must be accompanied by an adult 21 or older to sit here, because you are a minor."

"Oh." I said with a sigh of relief. "I will move to another table. I am so sorry" I said.

"Thank you," Fredrick said with a smile, he then headed back to his office.

"Well sorry about that small misunderstanding", the waitress said.

"Let me take your order," she said following me to another booth in the corner of the restaurant, away from the bar.

"Okay," I said reading the menu.

"What are your specials today?" I inquired.

"Well, we do have our shrimp scampi..." she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"It's only $6.58, and it comes with your choice of a side."

"Ooh" I replied, "sounds appetizing, I'll take that with a side of garden salad."

"Okay, and would you like something to drink?" she asked politely.

I was really tired of just drinking water, so I decided on orange juice.

"I'll take the orange juice." I replied.

"Okay" she said scribbling down my order on a notepad.

"The wait may be some time..."

"That's perfectly fine." I said, glaring at some tourists sitting across from my table.

"Okay, it will be ready in about 45 to 50 minutes." she stated grabbing my menu and walking away swiftly as most waitresses do. Or should for that matter, as she should, she is very nosy in my opinion.

She could've just told me that I had to move away from the bar herself, the manager coming out here was not necessary.

While waiting I looked over the files, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a women of about, 20 glance at me. I glanced over at her, and she quickly turned away. I then knew that she was a threat to my DARK secret, and these articles had mermaid written all over them. So I gathered them up and put them away, making a personal note never to examine them in a public place EVER again. Wondering eyes were just too risky, I had to stay as discrete as possible.

Because Of the lady sitting nearby, I was pressured to not take forever consuming all of my food. I was done within 20 minutes, and left my tip for the waitress and my bill. As I walked towards the door I noticed the woman do the same. This was REALLY freaking me out now, I then decided to try to loose her in a crowd of tourists. This was sadly unsuccessful, so I just confronted her.

"Why are you stalking me?" I asked trying to cut to the chase.

The woman looked stunned.

"Ah, I" she stuttered.

"That's right; you have no excuse, so please stop following me!" I shouted with the fiercest glare I could do. The women then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Weird" I said to myself.

After this encounter, I was very frightened. Did she know I was... mer?

Weirded out, I tried looking for a place to stay for one night only, I wanted to be away from people by morning. I found a hotel called Aiwo Hotel, the rates were cheap, and it was a place to rest. I ended up getting a small room; I showered and watched a bit of television only to catch-up on news... I listened to one news report though...

"This is a late night news alert, there is a teenage girl of age 14 that was reported missing Saturday," said the reporter. A picture of ME flashed on the screen, I was petrified. What was today? Tuesday? Had Mom found out a day early? Questions filled my mind; I only knew one thing for sure though. I NEEDED to get out of here, things were getting very dangerous. I planned to leave in five hours, in the dead of night... So, I shut off the television, set an alarm, and shut off the light and went straight to sleep.

_Back_in_Kauai._

It had been three full days that Layla had gone missing, the word was out. Amy would ground Layla for life when she was found. There was already a pile of dirty dishes in the sink waiting to be done, and a mountain of stinky laundry on the floor next to the washer waiting to be washed. Amy was getting a lot of sympathy at work as well. People would say, "I heard what happened. I am so sorry for you." or "Is there anything you want? I know it must be hard for you." Amy was not only taking advantage of Layla's absence; she was enjoying it.

_Back_in_Nauru._

As I got my things together, straightened up the hotel room, and dropped of the keys to the room in the lobby. Heading for the beach, I realized it was a few hours to sunrise. I found a sea cliff 15 feet off the water; I jumped off and landed in the water with a huge splash. I sped off through the salty ocean water, towards the horizon.


	5. Chapter 5 In The Solomon Islands

Chapter 5 In the Solomon Islands

_by:__HumanAvianHybridsRock_

It has been six hours since I have left Nauru traveling on the E.A.C. (East Australian Current where have we heard that before? A Disney Movie?) A straight shot to the Solomon Islands. I was pressing on towards reaching Honiara in the Solomon Islands. From here to my destination there weren't any islands that are actually named, these atolls were like very small, minor, unnoticed atolls preceded by beautiful coral reefs with vibrantly colored fish. My dream, places to stop and rest. I loved letting myself explore these gorgeous coral reefs teeming with marine life, then of course there was a long stretch of beach surrounding the coral reef. The beach is perfect for me to get out my maps and glance over them while I munch on a small little something just for about 20 minutes before I head back towards the E.A.C.

I stopped when I saw the first signs of an atoll, a coral reef. There was neon colored fish; there were the most brilliant, bright hues of blue, green, purple, pink surrounding me all at once. It was all just very pupil-dilating! I can't even begin to even list the various types of marine life! And here is a little fun fact... According to Charles Darwin atolls are formed through some kind of volcanic activity. Interesting huh? (If you want more info Google it).

When I reached the beach, my digital watch showed 12:00 PM (the cool thing about my watch is that it keeps up with changing time zones so I always have the exact time wherever I am), I slung my bag down and plopped onto the sand. Unzipping my bag I pulled out a water bottle, some pea nuts, and my maps, and an article to read while I just rested my body from my vigorous swimming. Seconds later after unscrewing the cap to my water bottle, I gulped down 3/4 of the water; I was VERY dehydrated, and needed fluids desperately. Next I tore open my bag of peanuts in a haste, they flew everywhere. Darn. Should have listened to that pesky little saying, "Haste makes waste." But if you didn't know I am a strong believer in the five second roll. So you know what I did, I quickly gathered the peanuts off the sand and went down to the water and rinsed them. So much for their salty flavoring, oh well I despised to much salt on my nuts anyway. I put the handful of nuts in my mouth, and crunched on them while glancing over the map and reading an article. The article read, "Mermaids, Fact or Fiction?" well sense I was I am mer the answer to that was quite obvious for me. Jumping to the conclusion of the article, it concluded that mermaids were fiction. Lies, honestly this article was kind of offensive and you know why. Irritated, I half folded the article, reached for my unzipped backpack and jammed it in along with my empty water bottle and the empty bag of nuts. 20 minutes had gone and passed, as it had been about half an hour and I needed to pack up and go. Slinging my water-tight bag on my back, I ran clumsily (It feels awkward to use your legs after swimming for so long) into the waves and plunged into the water.

Are you into Indian food? I LOVE Indian food, especially lamb curry (YUMMIES!) so you can probably guess where I ate In Honiara. I ate at an Indian restaurant called Taj Mahal; it was a little crowded, which was good for me trying to be low profile. I ordered sweet lassi, a drink that is basically drinkable yogurt (totality different than Danimals) that contains a lot of sugar, some naan and Pyaaz Ki Chutney to dip it in, and for my main course some lamb curry.  
"Vwat would like to order today?" said the waiter, an Indian man that was about 45.  
"I'll order the sweet lassi, naan with Pyaaz Ki Chutney for an appetizer, and your best lamb curry with your finest Basmati rice."

"You have a good taste young lady." said the waiter with a wide grin and a heavy accent. He then walked to the kitchen returning 2 minutes later with my beverage, and a straw. I then sipped happily until he came back about 7 minutes later with my naan.  
"Thank You" I said.  
"My pleasure, I will be back soon with your food."  
I smiled at him, as he turned and left, he seemed kind, but suspicious too. I racked my brain for any reason why such a kind waiter would be a possible threat. In the midst of my wondering he came back a third time with my food.  
"And here you are," he said smirking.  
"Enjoy."  
That did it, a smirk? I knew something was up. I stopped him before he was five steps away.  
"Just curious, what did you put in this." I tried to say as unsuspecting as possible, I even batted my eyes to make me appear even more and innocent.  
"Oh you know what you would typically find in a lamb curry, bay leaves black cardamom, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns_"  
"Well I can smell something that shouldn't be in here." I interrupted. Just then, another woman glanced over to me, who probably thought I was making a scene.  
"What accusations are you making here?" the waiter answered not trying to lose his cool.  
This time the woman who glanced over moments before walked over to my table.  
"Well I am not accusing_" I stopped dead as I looked straight into the woman's face. She was the woman who had been stalking me in Nauru. Crap. What should I do? A.) I could run out of the restaurant like a crazy lunatic. B.) I could pretend to faint. C.) I could pretend that she was someone I knew, and just pretend like everything was just fine. Strangely I chose did none of the above, I ignored her for the moment.  
"Hey look sir," I replied trying not to sound shocked.  
"I was only joking, compliments to the chef." I pretended to joke.  
"Ah thanks," he replied somewhat confused as he tried to head to the kitchen like this never happened, probably trying to make this moment a little less awkward.  
"Who are you and what do you want now?" I whispered in the woman's direction, who now thought she had an invitation to sit down at my table.  
"I am Linda, and I think I can help you." she purposed.  
"I am Lucy." I lied just to be on the safe side.  
"You don't trust me do you?" Linda replied.  
"If you think I am lying about my name, then what is it?" I retorted.  
"Layla" she said straight out.  
My eyes widened, she really did know my name!  
"What else do you know about me?" I asked.  
"A lot." she boasted.  
"How do you know so much?" I interrogated.  
"I can tell you all I know if you will please come with you." she assured.  
You and I both know I will never go with strangers, even if they are a lady (common sense).  
"Like I am going to walk off with someone I have never met." I reasoned.  
"Ah so you're not that easy." she replied.  
"Yup." I said, pleased with myself.  
"Well you know I have enough information already to turn you in..." she threatened.  
I gulped. What information does she have? Did she see me in the rocks going from fluke to feet? I was already in deep kimchi, but then my genius brain came up with an idea. I knew the curry was poisoned, I wondered if she did too.  
"I will come with you as soon as you eat the curry."  
"Look you and I both know the curry has been poisoned, the smell indicates it."  
"Do you know why he poisoned it?" I questioned.  
Linda leaned in close to my ear.  
"Because I told him to; through bribery." she said flatly.  
"Why?"  
"To see if you would pass the test."  
"Well I got an A plus." I smiled trying not to show any hint of confusion about this "test".  
"Yup." Linda said looking as if she was relieved.  
"What exactly are you getting out of this?" I asked.  
"Come with me and I will tell you." she tried to convince me again.  
"I will, but right outside the restaurant only on a bench or something." I replied.  
Have you figured out my logic? If she tried to hurt me in any way shape or form it would be visible to public eyes, and I could run if necessary.  
"Fine." she said.

I got up and walked towards the door, with Linda following leaving money but no tip. I wasn't going to leave the waiter extra money when he was bribed into poisoning me. The only reason I did leave money is so that I wouldn't be accused of dining and dashing.

We sat down on a curb behind the restaurant near the dumpster, probably so people won't hear us here. Boy was it stinky though, there were even flies circling the dumpster. Trying to ignore the stench, I tried to get to some information from this Linda lady. Again, how much did she know about me?  
"So, how do you think you can help me?" I inquired.  
"Well first before I say anything else, let's lay our cards on the table."  
"Okay" I said, with butterflies inside my stomach.  
"First let me do something." She turned towards the building behind us and there was a security camera. Good thing she saw that before I said anything, well you know, secret. She looked at the camera, and then at the swift movement of her hand the camera froze. Yes FROZEN, like it was covered in ice.  
"Whoa." I said stunned.  
"How did you do that?" I questioned. That was only one question I had a million more. If this woman could freeze it, then was she like me, a mer? And if she was mer, did all mermaids have a unique ability like that?  
"It is a gift she said, more on that later." she explained.  
"Right now though, let me just say that I am like you." Linda noted.  
"And there are MANY more like us, all around the world. I know people in Brisbane, Australia who can help you; a lot." she clarified

"Then why did you threaten to turn me in?" I questioned her again.

"It was just bait to get you to come with me." Linda stated as if it didn't matter.  
"How are you going to help me?" I interrogated even more.  
"Well for starters, you obviously need a new identity, my cousin Kara; can give you a total new makeover. Then of course my boyfriend, Jake, is really smart with computers, he could hack into the system and get you an ID."  
"Oh that's great and all, but right now I am just interested in why you even tried to poison me." I interrupted.  
"You know I didn't want to, but I had to do it." Linda began.  
"I didn't have a choice; it is the way that the Counsel of the Mermish People decided to test you. Again though, I am so sorry" she apologized.  
"What is this Mermish Counsel? And why do they test people that way?" I asked trying to get as many details as possible.  
"It is supposed to test you in how well you can sense a trap." Linda clarified.  
"It sounds weird, but that is how they see if you are even worthy to have a tail." she went on.  
"And since you passed the test, you are worthy to enter in the society of mermaids. Consider it an honor, very FEW make into the society of mermaids. It's a shame that the test is so difficult to pass. But it is better that word does not to slip out about us. Humans are just too risky to tell."  
"Wow." I said plainly. I was overwhelmed with information, so many questions finally answered! But then there were now a bazillion more questions that needed to be answered.  
"So now what?" I asked.  
"We head for Brisbane."  
_Back_in_Kauai._  
To many days had passed since Layla had disappeared. What if something really bad had actually happened to Layla? Amy wondered. The detectives were pretty clueless about the whole thing...  
"Well, it has been passed 72 hours. After such time has passed, we are not certain if Layla is alive or dead. But we have no clue of where Layla could have disappeared too." the detective said looking very fatigued.

"We have been here for 4 days investigating, and cannot draw any conclusions."  
"Does she have any motivation to run away?" the confused detective asked.  
"Not that I could think of." Amy lied. Amy thought she was very sure why Layla would run away, just so she could get out of doing chores. And if the detectives were not able to find Layla, then Amy may have to herself.


	6. Chapter 6 Arriving in Brisbane

Chapter 6 Arriving in Brisbane

_by:__HumanAvianHybridsRock_

I got up of the curb and Linda followed.  
"Let me arrange a plane, it is about 1,300 miles from here to Brisbane, Australia. It would take us probably 4 days to swim from here to Brisbane." Linda noted.  
"Really? It may take you that long, but I could be there in a day and half. Thanks to the currents I take." I boasted.  
"Every smart mermaid takes the currents." Linda began.  
"But you must have swimming extremely fast as a special ability, very few can do that. That is something to be proud of, you are gifted." Linda smiled.  
"How fast do normal mermaids usually travel?" I inquired.  
"Typically it depends. It can all depend on a lot of factors such as age, weight, size, stamina. But a rough guess would be 40-55 MPH at the max." explained Linda.  
"I can go 75 MPH, and my max I think is probably 85 - 90 MPH. But I have only gone that fast in a hurry." I bragged again.  
"Layla, that's really cool and all but if you haven't noticed we are kind of out in the open, so let's save this talk for later." Linda noticed.  
"But I have SO many questions." I whined.  
"I know, but we'll talk more later." Linda insisted.  
"Fine." I said reluctantly  
"Let's catch that plane." I said.

An hour later the two of us were at the Honiara International Airport, and where climbing into the cockpit of a small biplane.  
"How long will take us to get to Brisbane?" I asked.  
"Oh about seven hours." Linda said plainly.  
"What!" I complained.  
"Seven hours in this confined space? I am gonna die!"  
"You'll be fine; you will probably just catch up on your sleep." Linda remarked.  
Just then our pilot boarded the plane, he was about 35, and he was Hispanic.  
"Hello, I am your pilot today." he said with a smile.  
"You can call me, Juan."  
"Alright nice to know, now let's just get this show on the road." I implied.  
"Layla, be a more kind please." reprimanded Linda.  
"Oh so now you think you can act like my Mom and boss me around? I don't think so." I argued.  
"Please don't make this flight harder than it already is. No one wants to hear your complaining for the next seven hours." Linda retorted.  
"I am_" I stopped. What was the point? Linda, I hate to say, was right for one. Juan probably didn't want to hear me complain, neither did Linda. I would just make them more irritable.  
"Sorry Juan." I apologized.  
"It's fine princessa." he replied with a smirk as he buckled up.  
I fake smiled back. I hated it when people called me princessa, like I am a spoiled brat. That is TOTALLY not the case. I buckled up noticing that both Juan and Linda were both buckled. Juan flip switches on, and go ready for takeoff. Five minutes later we were lifting off the ground.

Within 20 minutes I fell asleep; swimming day after day wears you out. I REALLY needed to catch up on my sleep.  
I woke up about 4 hours later.  
"Hey sleepy head." Linda said with a board expression.  
"Hey." I replied stretching and yawning sleepily.  
There was a pause.  
"Sorry about earlier" I began.  
"I was just exhausted and grumpy."  
"I understand." Linda replied gazing out of the cockpit window into what seemed as an endless sea of clouds.  
Since there was about 3 hours more of the flight, I decided I would just kill time and play a computer game on my laptop. I couldn't take out the articles, not in front of Juan.  
"Hey Juan, is there any wifi on this plane? I am just curious." I asked.  
"No sorry, princessa." Juan admitted.  
Again, I was getting insulted by that word.  
"Ok." I sulked.  
So you can guess what I did for the next three hours. I played solitaire on the laptop for three hours straight. So boring!

Finally we landed at Brisbane Airport at 8:00 PM, when we arrived we thanked Juan, and took a taxi to Linda's apartment.  
"This is a nice place you have, here." I said trying to ignore how small the place was.  
"It's home." Linda replied with a heavy sigh.  
"You hungry? I can make something if you are." Linda suggested.  
"Okay." I yawned.  
We had simple lasagna for supper, and then of course we were tired from our flight so we went to bed.

The next morning, we slept in until 9:30. I felt a whole lot less exhausted.  
After a small breakfast of oatmeal and toast, we dressed and went to see Jake. Jake was Linda's boyfriend who was like a computer nerd.  
"Hello. Anyone home?" I asked knocking on the door.  
Jake opened the door; Linda jumped into his arms and pecked his cheek.  
"Hey baby, I haven't seen you in two weeks." he said squeezing Linda in a hug.  
"I missed you." Linda mumbled into his ear.  
"I did too." he replied.  
Finally after all this P.D.A. Jake finally turned to me.  
"Ah and this must be Layla." he said with a smile.  
"Yup."  
"Cool, come on in." he advised.  
We all went inside to Jake's living room, he brought out some tortilla chips and salsa and refreshments.  
"How was your flight home yesterday?" Jake asked dipping a chip in salsa and eating it.  
"Good." Linda said  
"For me anyway." Linda smiled.  
"What happened?" Jake questioned looking at me.  
"Juan the pilot kept calling me princessa. I hated him." I replied.  
Jake chuckled.  
"Well then, I'll take a note of that never to call you princessa." Jake joked.  
I partially smiled.  
"So about your ID." Jake mentioned.  
"Yes about that. How long would it take you to hack into the system to get her an ID?" Linda asked.  
"Depends." Jake answered taking a sip of soda.  
"Depends on what?" I asked curiously.  
"Well, it depends on you." Jake began.  
"What are you willing to give? And what do you want me to do?"  
"I will give you $90. And here is the information for you to put into the system. Then give me a fake birth certificate and an ID to register her in school." Linda offered passing Jake some papers.  
"Okay, I will give you a discount, $65 and in return give me a week and a half. And you'll have it." Jake agreed.  
"Alright then it's settled." Linda said standing up.  
"Come on Layla, we have errands to run."  
_Back_in_Kauai._  
Amy was very sure of going after Layla. The only problem was where would she start? Layla could be anywhere. After the detectives left the house after doing another day's work of unsuccessful investigation, Amy pulled out her laptop and Googled recent disappearances in Kauai. Layla of course popped up, she thought of where Layla could have gone. But her mind was blank, after all Layla could be anywhere in the whole world. This would be harder than she thought. 


	7. Chapter 7 Meeting Kara

Chapter 7 Meeting Kara

by: HumanAvianHybridsRock

We left Jake's house and drove about 15 minutes on the freeway until we exited onto Creekside Rd. Linda made a left and we pulled into a parking lot in front of a building with a sign that read, 'Super Sassy Spa and Salon.' I tensed reading the sign; I had never been in a salon to actually get my hair done. Amy always dragged me along to get her hair and nails done so I could "socialize," but I know that she actually took me with her to just to let me watch in envy. I hated it; I finally just realized to bring a book to read while she and the salon stylists would gossip.

When we walked in, there was a lady who was sitting at a desk reading the latest edition of Vogue. She glanced up from her magazine; she was the only one at the salon.

"Oh hey, when was your appointment again?" the lady said with a smirk looking up from her magazine.

"I didn't make one Kara." Linda replied smiling, "You know that."

"Of course, I knew that." Kara agreed smirking even wider.

"How are you? I haven't seen you for three weeks." Kara asked.

"Well you know I had to go on that mission." Linda began.

"Oh yeah to get this chika?" Kara added pointing at me.

"Yup, she came all the way from Hawaii, in about 5 days time." Linda began. "She is quite remarkable, and she passed the test too." Linda went on.

"Wow! I didn't think anyone could swim that fast. Swimming at extreme speeds must be one of your special abilities!" Kara beamed as she checked her schedule to make sure that our visit wouldn't run into any other appointments.

"It doesn't look like I have any other appointments today; that'll give us plenty of time to give you a complete makeover." Kara stated.

"Then maybe we can go shopping for Layla; she only brought like 2 changes of clothes." Linda offered.

"Oh yeah, that would be awesome." Kara agreed.

"What do you think Layla? Wanna go shopping?" Linda asked turning to look at me.

"Who is paying?" I asked concerned that a shopping spree may be something we couldn't afford.

"Don't worry about money, today I just want you to enjoy yourself. Besides the Mermish Council will pay me back anyway so I am not paying anything." Linda told me.

"Well then! Let's shop 'til we drop!" I was thrilled; I never had anyone offer to spend money on only me. My Mom always made me wear old worn clothing that she out-grew as a teenager.

"Okay let's get started," Kara said with confidence as she led me over to a swivel chair in front of a mirror with various hair supplies by it. Kara took out a covering and put it on me so hair wouldn't land in my lap. She then got out a binder; and vigorously started flipping pages inside with many cute looking hairstyles.

"We could layer your hair." she recommended glancing at a few layered looks.

"It's really in right now, and we could also dye your hair a very light auburn, it would complement your hazel eyes very well." Linda offered.

"I really like auburn hair; and you seem to know what you are doing. So it's fine with me." I agreed.

"Fabulous." Linda mumbled lost in a fashion magazine.

"Great." Linda said in agreement grabbing scissors and a detangling spray.

Finally after 35 minutes of Kara snipping away and talking non-stop about leather boots she found at the mall for $20, I was ready to fall asleep. She didn't even notice my bored facial expression, until she was done layering my hair. She finally led me over to a sink, and made me lean my head on the edge of the sink so she could shampoo my hair. This time I decided I wanted some answers to some questions; so I started interrogating.

"So let me get this straight," I said before Kara could start another dull conversation about whatever. "You both are cousins and you both are mermaids."

"Yup. My tails is s a deep Sapphire kind of purple." Kara replied.

"May I see it?" I inquired. They hadn't seen my tail, and I hadn't seen theirs.

"Not now. What if someone outside walks by and sees me?"

"Okay then, maybe later?" I asked.

"Sure." Kara answered pulling shampoo out of a cabinet, putting on rubber gloves, and turning on the facet.

"Is Jake a mer too?" I questioned.

"Yes and no." Linda started. "Jake is what we call an aqua-hominis, which is Latin for "water human."

"What?" I said confused.

"Jake still has unique abilities, and gills to breath under water, but he doesn't grow a tail. The only reason the Mermish Council accepted him was because he was the child of a merfolk couple. Something went wrong in his genes. It was just a bit of a mishap, but he is still accepted as a citizen." Linda explained.

"Oh." I answered, "That makes a little more sense."

Then Kara began to lather the shampoo on my scalp; it felt like my head was getting a massage.

"Ahhhh," I expressed, "That feels so relaxing."

"Good," Kara replied strenuously rubbing her hands on my scalp.

"Let me know if you feel like your legs are starting to fuse together Layla, I don't want you undergoing mermaid metamorphosis while I am washing your hair." Linda cautioned.

"I will be sure and do that. But I don't think we have to worry, it takes me 20 minutes for a total transformation to occur." I advised Kara.

After 5 minutes of thoroughly shampooing my hair, Kara finally washed all the shampoo out. She then conditioned my hair, adding moisture to my intensely damaged, dry hair. After all I had spent the last 5 days swimming across the south-pacific and my hair was pretty dried out from all the salt water.

"That was a lot better; your hair was really frizzy, and dried out from your adventure across the sea." Kara noticed.

"Yeah sorry about that; I forgot to take hair products with me." I chuckled.

"Your hair is cleaned, so let's go dye it now," Kara said.

"I am so glad I didn't transform." I noticed because my legs were just starting to want to stick together.

Opening the cabinet, Kara looked at all the shades of auburn dyes in the cabinet and finally saw one that suited me. She grabbed it, and turned back to me, the cabinet door closing behind her. She followed the instructions on the back and let it soak in my hair for 25 minutes until she washed it out.

"Now that I am done styling your hair, I can move on to doing your nails." Kara stated putting away all the supplies used to dye my hair.

"Layla, come pick what color you want for your nails." Kara said walking towards the huge shelf that displayed all the various colors of nail polish. There were probably about 150 colors to choose from sorted from lights to darks; I was overwhelmed with choices.

"Do you have any say on a color that would match?" I asked clueless about what on earth to choose.

"Oh, well maybe a neutral shade of blue or purple." Kara suggested.

"Ok." I said glimpsing at the blue-purple section.

I snatched up a light blue color of nail polish. It was kind of a turquoise color, go figure, it reminded of the sea and it matched my tail.

Beckoning me to a table with a heat lamp and a fan; Kara washed her hands and put her hair back in a quick, messy bun. I was silent as she intricately did 2 of my finger nails on my right hand, I was fascinated by her skill. After five minutes Kara broke the silence.

"What do you think you might want at the mall?" Kara inquired.

"Clothes." I joked being generic.

"What kind of clothes?" she said with a half-smile.

"Whatever is at the mall." I told her.

"There's a lot of clothes at the mall." Kara said.

"Summer time clothing then." I answered.

"Okay," Kara said back plainly. By now she probably got the hint that I wasn't in the mood for chit chat about fashion like she was. So I decided now was a great time to change the subject.

"Read any good books lately?"

"Me? Reading books for fun?" She responded.

"Nope. Never gonna happen girl." Kara said with a smirk.

"I figured." I said pleased with myself.

"You're such a bookworm Layla." Kara labeled me.

"What is so interesting about staring at words on paper anyway?" Kara asked me with an actual glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"It's not just staring at words on paper." I retorted.

"In fact it is way more than that. Reading is enjoying a heart-felt story whether fiction or non-fiction."

"What a meaningful answer." Linda interjected pulling up a chair and sitting next to me.

"Why thank you." I said smiling even wider.

"Whatever." Kara responded obviously annoyed with Linda and me.

We were all silent after that; who knew Kara could be so easily offended just by asking about if she reads for enjoyment. For 20 minutes she did my nails in silence, waited for them to dry under the heat lamp and fan. Kara then applied a coat of clear coating with some sparkles in them.

"Finally, all done." Kara said like as if she was relieved.

Relieved about the strain of patience it takes to do nails precisely or putting up with me and my talk of books? I didn't know. Kara put her supplies back on the shelf, and tidied up the salon. We then left for the mall when the clear coating on my nails was 100% dry.

The parking lot at the mall wasn't all that crowded, so I was glad we wouldn't have to deal with crowds. If you've read previous chapters, you know how much I hate crowds of people.

Inside, I was amazed at the map, and how many stores there were. You have to remember this was my first time I had really been to a mall; to have a shopping spree that is.

"Whoa, so many stores." I said amazed.

"Girl, where have you been for the past 100 years?" Kara asked.

"There have always been malls as far as I can remember."

"You haven't met Amy, my 'Mom' she isolated me in a house to do chores." I complained.

"How did you live?" Kara asked astonished.

"To live with her was difficult. Amy treated me like Cinderella, and if not, possibly worse. It was a miracle how I didn't go insane," I replied.

"Geese," Linda butted in. Linda seemed to randomly jump into conversations at just the right moment, I loved her wit.

For the next 4 and half hours, I swear I tried on every shirt, pair of pants, tank top, and pair of shoes in the whole entire freakin' mall. By the end of this whirlwind of changing in and out of clothes, I was grumpy. I thought shopping was supposed to be fun.

"Okay we finally found some outfits that are your taste and style that you could wear to school. Now we have to find accessories to match." Kara stated.

"Will this be more fun than trying on clothes?" I grumbled.

"Way more fun." Kara told me deep in thought. She was probably checking off things on a mental check list.

We then ventured into a store like Claire's, but more mature. We spent probably $500 on accessories, like earrings, bracelets, small and simple handbags, necklaces, and you name we bought it. By the time we were finally done shopping it was 7:30 PM, I wanted to plop on Linda's couch and crash. We got to the car, and all I remember is buckling my seat belt and Linda pulling into her parking space at her apartments; after dropping off Kara at her house.

_Back_in_Kauai._

After a whole day of searching the internet, Amy came up with just a list of where Layla may have possibly run to. It may have been totally off, but she was sure that it was where Layla had gone. Amy's list looked like this:

Possible Locations of Layla's Whereabouts

1. Maui

2. Oahu

3. Molokai

Amy looked over her list, then asked herself how Layla would ever get to the other Hawaiian Islands. After all Layla couldn't just swim a distance that far to reach any other Hawaiian Islands. Or could she? But how? None of it made sense, someone would have to take her there; be it boat or plane. If Layla did get someone to take her, then who would it be? Why would they even bother with Layla? And if she did get someone to take her, could it be possibly anywhere out of Hawaii or even the country?


	8. Chapter 8 Questions Answered

by: HumanAvianHybridsRock

I woke up at the sound of the front door swinging open, Linda was carrying Starbucks. That motivated me to get out of bed.

"I got you something from Starbucks," Linda said setting her car keys down on the coffee table.

"Did you get me non-fat caramel latte?" I asked hoping for my favorite.

"No, I didn't know what you liked so I got hot cocoa." She replied.

"Thank you, I appreciate you thinking of me." I told her hoping she wouldn't think me ungrateful.

"You're welcome," she answered simply.

I hoped she knew that I really was trying to be gracious. I don't want to give the impression that I am never thankful. Trust me; I am _very_ grateful after living with Amy.

"So what do you want for breakfast?"

Breakfast? Oh yeah, the most important meal of the day. I wasn't very hungry, so I hesitated to tell Linda what I felt like.

"Egg sandwiches?" I offered.

"That's fine, not time consuming," Linda agreed already in the kitchen rummaging through pots and pans.

"Do we have anything to do today?" I inquired.

"Well since today is Thursday I have classes I need to go to tonight, and I have a shift at Chili's Grill this afternoon." Linda explained.

"So I called Kara and she said she would watch you."

"Kara? Watch me? WHY!" I moaned.

"She'll just talk to me about boys and fashion_"

"Kara is not doing that with you today," Linda interjected.

"She wants to show you something."

Kara showing me something other than girly stuff? Impressive. Now I was actually interested.

"What does she want to show me?" I beamed.

"She didn't even tell me, she wants it to be a surprise I guess." Linda said.

Well that left me guessing, all I could predict was that it maybe had something to do with our well-kept secret.

"Fine." I muttered, disappointed with Linda's lack of knowledge.

Moving to the table, I decided it wouldn't do any good to keep guessing, so I asked Linda bout her 'classes.'

"So where do you go to college?"

"I go to Calamvale Community College, just to get my required classes done. Then I may move on to earn my masters in marine biology or possibly something in the arts."

"Whoa, marine biology? Did you ever think you may have a difficult time with that since well you know… you're a freakin' mermaid?" I did the favor of reminding her.

"I have actually talked it over with Kara, and even the Mermish Council. Both were apprehensive at first, but they did consider and do not totally object." Linda informed me as she cooked eggs in the pan.

"Why did you ever pick that anyway?" I questioned. Science to me was kind of dull. Personally I wouldn't choose a field in any kind of sciences; it isn't my calling.

"Well Layla, I am a very logical person. I for one am curious about the ocean and my kind. If I am from the ocean, don't you think I ought to know as much as possible about it?" Linda began.

"I see your point." I said nodding my agreement.

"But then if decided on art, that could take me anywhere…" Linda added.

"Oh yeah it could. In fact Linda, did you ever want to become a writer?" I suggested.

"No, not really, but it sounds intriguing. I may consider it." Linda said flipping the eggs.

Five minutes later, Linda and I were enjoying orange juice and egg sandwiches.

"So do you need help with anything around the house." I offered. I figured that if I was gonna live with someone, I may as well do chores to lend a hand.

"Layla, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I know how much work you had to do for Amy." Linda affirmed.

"This is different," I began. "I actually want to help you."

"Well okay, if you put it that way, I suppose I will let you help. But to make it fair, I will develop a system where it isn't all put on you." Linda explained grabbing a notepad and pen.

"Every Saturday is laundry day," Linda went on jotting down her down her ideas.

"And whoever makes meals will not be responsible for dishes." I joined in.

"Every two weeks, we will each clean the house on Sunday afternoons. That means the bathroom, living rooms, and bedroom…" Linda then hesitated.

I knew what she was thinking; I couldn't just live in her living room. If per say it was only her bedroom like she was implying.

"About that, I have been meaning to move apartments actually. This place does only have one bedroom." Linda stated.

"We could just move to another one here in this complex," I suggested.

"That may be awhile…" Linda said thinking probably of when we could move.

"I can wait. It wouldn't take more than a weekend to move all this stuff probably." I told her

"Yeah, you're right I don't have that much stuff," Linda responded.

"Let me think about that, I will get back to you." Linda said deep in thought.

"Alright, cool with me; no rush." I tried not to imply that I was pressuring her to move out.

"You done with breakfast?" Linda looked to me.

"Yes," I answered.

"Will you wash the dishes please?" Linda commanded pointing at the sink.

"Oh yeah sure," I obeyed her.

"Do you have gloves?"  
"You won't need them to wash only a couple of dishes." Linda reminded me.

"You have to remember we don't morph that instantaneously."

"That's right." I said gathering the dishes and walking into the kitchen I noticing that it was 9:45.

Later that morning we both decluttered and cleaned the apartment; I vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen, and organized my space in the living room. Linda cleaned the bathroom, and tidied her cluttered bedroom. Finally about 11:30 we were both done cleaning.

"I have to leave by 1:45 for my shift at Chili's so I will go get ready for that. On my way there I will drop you at Kara's." Linda informed me.

"Okay I will be ready by then." I responded.

"Oh and one more thing, Kara told me for you to bring a sweatshirt, so remember to do that." Linda prompted me.

"Alright," I replied reaching for my laptop.

"Oh and what's your wi-fi password?" I asked opening my laptop and turning it on.

"The router name is 'Bubble' and the password is 'oceanlover1990.' " Linda specified.

After putting in the password, I had access to the fastest internet I had ever used.

I had A LOT of catching up do on emails, so I logged into my gmail. I had all but one email in my inbox titled, "I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE LAYLA" from "YOU KNOW WHO."I froze, do I open it? I thought of Linda. She'd know what to do.

"Linda!" I called with panic in my voice.

"Is something wrong Layla?" Linda answered back half-alert sensing the worry in my tone of voice.

"Come here." I called back.

"What is the matter?" Linda was saying as she strode over to my side.

I pointed to the email, her eyes widened larger then saucers.

"Poop," was all Linda could muster.

"What do we do?" I tried not to fret.

"We show Jake, don't open it. Just log out of your email." Linda instructed me sensing that it was the best thing to do. Without question, I logged out of my gmail. The anxiety was already setting in, I was about to have a panic attack.

"Oh crap." I fumed setting down my laptop on the coffee table.

I lied on the couch; I stared at the ceiling trying to contain my fear. I guess I really had underestimated Amy. That is if she was this "You Know Who."

"Layla calm down, I doubt Amy will ever even come close to finding you." Linda tried to reassure me.

"Right now, we need to focus at what is at hand." Linda advised.

"Like may I suggest not surfing the web. You should get your mind off things." Linda went on.

"Can I take a bubble bath?" I asked. It was the most random thought; the idea just popped into my mind.

"Sure, I will move out of the bathroom for you. But keep in mind; you only have about 45 minutes before you need to get ready to go."

"Okay, I said I will set a timer on my laptop while I listen to some soothing music."

"No you shouldn't. A laptop in there might just tempt you to think about that email. How about you listen to Pandora on my i-pod. I will tell you when time is up."

"Ok," I agreed shutting off my laptop.

I shut and locked the bathroom door behind me, then turned to the counter then turned on some piano music, my favorite for relaxing. Walking over to the tub I turned on the facet for warm water, and plugged the drain when the water temperature was to my liking. Lastly I poured bath beads into the tub, and stripped down to nothing, throwing my clothing on the bathroom tile in a pile. I climbed into the bathtub. Within 2 minutes every muscle in my body was eased, at 3 minutes my legs were starting to fuse. Finally at 5 minutes I drifted off into a light snooze.

In my dream I was swimming through a coral reef admiring all the marine life, but then I saw another fluke much like mine pass by. Out of curiosity I swam over to see what the other fluke really was.

It was another mermaid; she was almost a resemblance of me but not quite. Instead of a turquoise and violet tale like mine, she had a solid deep blue tail as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean. She had brown hair with highlights of gold, and eyes exactly like mine. She could almost be related to me. But before I could proceed in asking her anything, I was awakened to a loud knock on the door.

"Get ready to go please Layla!" Linda shouted through the door.

"Do you have any towels?" I asked looking around the bathroom for a towel.

"In the cabinet, Can you reach it?" she asked trying to help me.

"No," I said fully aware that while I dosed off I had sprouted a tail.

"May I come in to assist you?" Linda proposed. I wasn't nude, luckily when I transform I have a top that covers area my chest so I was fine.

"Please," I pleaded Linda.

"I'm coming in," Linda told me, unlocking the door.

The first thing Linda noticed was my tail; she stared at it as if she had never seen such a thing. I couldn't tell if her eyes were glued to it in a good way.

"What?" I said breaking her gaze.

"I was admiring your fish tail," she stated still awed.

"What color is your tail?" I inquired.

"It is a dark shade of kelp green, but yours is just bizarre." Linda answered.

"Why is it bizarre?" I was a little offended by the fact that she thought it was weird to have two colors in my tail.

"More like extremely rare, I have seen many mermaids with beautiful tails. But none with a two-colored tail."

"Does it mean something… good?" I posed.

"I don't know Layla. There are so many things I don't know about you; that we don't know about me."Linda explained.

"What? Then why did you come after me? Why do you, Kara, and the Mermish Council want to help me so much?" I noticed was raising my voice a little. More and more questions pilling high, rattling in my head all at once made me frustrated. I noticed Linda was taken aback.

"Sorry it's just…" I hesitated.

"It just that there are too many questions, and a shortage of answers. I know how that feels…" Linda grasped.

"You understand?" I was confused. She was a person who knew other people who were related to her, she could answer a lot more questions than I could.

"Of course I get it, I am a mermaid too. What's more mysterious than being a mermaid?"

"Nothing." I told her smiling back. She did understand.

"Here." She said smiled back opening the cabinet, and handing me a beige towel.

"I put out some clothes on the bathroom counter for you. Oh and this may help too." Linda spoke as she walked to her bedroom for something. Linda came back with a hair blow dryer in hand; she plugged it into an outlet near the bathtub.

"This speeds up your transformation to about 5 minutes." Linda pointed out.

"Nice, thanks for the tip." I thanked her.

"Sure. Be ready in 20." Linda informed me locking the door behind her as she walked out.

It took me 5 minutes to morph from fluke to feet, and 15 minutes to get dressed, and French-braid my hair.

"Let's go Layla," Linda called grabbing the keys off the coffee table.

"Okay coming," I replied, grabbing my sweatshirt.

In the car…

"How did you know where to find me on my way here?" I asked. I wanted to fill in as many blanks while I was with Linda as possible.

"The Mermish Council gave me your rough coordinates, and I followed them to Nauru. Do you remember how I found you in that restaurant?"

"Oh yeah." I remembered.

We pulled up in front of Kara's house; I thanked Linda for everything, slammed the car door, and jogged across the lawn to the door. I knocked on it, and it was abruptly opened.

"Hey," Kara acknowledged me.

"Hi," I greeted her back walking inside.

"I made you something to eat for lunch, it's on the table." Kara gestured to the dining room.

On the table was a plate with grilled cheese and a glass of lemonade. It was very thoughtful of Kara to make me lunch, I was quite hungry.

"Oh thanks," I walked swiftly to the table, and took a bite the size of a toddler's fist.

"Don't choke on it," Kara said as she took up a chair.

"Sorry I haven't eaten since 9:30." I replied taking the last bite out of one of the sandwich halves.

"So what are we doing today?" I inquired staring on my other half of the sandwich.

"When you are done, we will take off for the beach. It all starts from there…" Kara revealed.

"Oh, are we taking anything?" I questioned.

"Not really, just ourselves, a beach bag, towels, and a sweatshirt for if it gets cold." Kara assured me. Good so I wasn't swimming with any wait, that'll be a first.

"Let's go," I said smashing my face with last of the sandwich. I hoped the sandwich would stay down.

Kara set my plate in the sink, grabbed the beach bag containing towels.

"Oh I almost forgot." Kara said as she snatched up a tankini and some flip flops sitting on the sofa.

"Here go change into that, I am wearing my swimsuit, and so should you." Kara directed me.

After I changed, she made a last check and we walked to the beach at the end of the road. We hid our stuff among some rocks, and swam out to calmer waters passed the shore of breaking waves.

We waded in the water until we were fully fish, Kara then beckoned me to start swimming.

_Follow me, _a voice broke into my head, it sounded identical to Kara's voice.

_Whoa! Telepathy!_ I thought back to Kara.

_Yeah I thought it was cool at first too, _Kara replied.

_Do all merfolk communicate like this? _I asked Kara.

_Pretty much, but if we are talking formally we may use Latin words. Otherwise we use telepathy except sometimes if it's a dire emergency we make VERY high pitched screeching noises vocally. _Kara returned my thought.

_What does it sound like? I want to know just in case something happens._ I suggested she show me.

_Okay, but you'll regret it…_ Kara warned covering her ears.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!"**

I was deaf for about 5 seconds after that. I literally couldn't even here the faint sound of waves back at shore rolling in and out.

_Dang, _was all I could fathom.

_Told you you'd regret it,_ Kara remarked.

_Well, I guess at least I'll know now._ I thought.

_Yup, _was all I got back.

The two of us swam a little ways, until we came to a deep trench.

_Whoa! I am not swimming down there. _ I stopped.

_Look whose chicken_ Kara grinned.

I rolled my eyes. If Kara thought I was afraid, she would be proven otherwise.

_I'll race you. _I challenged her.

_You know it wouldn't be fair._ Kara looked at me with a look that said "you know that".

_Look whose being a chicken now, _I joked.

_I'll even give you a 15 second head start, _I offered.

_Fine,_ Kara agreed after a moment of hesitation.

_Okay. _I thought

_Ready._

_Set. _

_Go!_

Kara was a blur of bubbles, and I was already on 2 seconds.

_13, 14, _I thought so Kara could keep track of the count.

_15._

I stroked my fluke twice, very hard with a lot of force and was already gaining speed.

Within 5 seconds I was just catching up to Kara, at 7 seconds she was behind me.

I of course was gaining speed every second though, so she had no chance of catching up.

At the bottom of the trench, I abruptly stopped; my heart thudding so hard I was a little light-headed.

Finally 8 seconds later Kara was greeted by my wide grin.

_Who were you calling a chicken?_ I grinned even wider.

_Not you._ She jested out of breath.

_That's what I thought,_ I bragged back.

_So what now? We're here at the bottom of this trench,_ I demanded.

_We half to open the portal,_ Kara replied.

_How do we do that?_ I asked Kara.

_You can't open it yet, so just let me,_ Kara thought back in reply.

Kara grabbed something hanging on a chain around her neck, and closed her eyes. I hadn't even noticed her necklace until now.

_By the power bestowed to me,_

_by the merfolk of the sea,_

_grant me entry to Urbs in mare!_

Instantly after Kara thought her words of entry, the pendant in her fist started to glow a great blinding white, thus causing me to shield my eyes.

_So bright!_ I exclaimed.

_Wait for it…_ Kara reassured me as the pendant grew brighter in her closed hands. Suddenly 3 seconds later, a bright blue light appeared about a yard way from me, and a swirling vortex blossomed from the blue light.

_Hurry! Swim into the portal before it shuts us out! _Kara rushed me.

I was already proceeding to swim through the portal, when Kara was prompting me to swim through. In fact, I did so as if it was instinctual.

_Already ahead of you, _I told Kara; who was right behind me. The moment Kara's whole body was through, the portal closed.

_That was pretty cool! _I thought very fascinated.

_You'll have access to the same portal soon, _Kara replied.

Observing my surroundings, I noted that we had transported to whole new place. We were surrounded by a huge, busy coral reef, but just around the corner I saw a city. Don't picture a city like the one from _The Little Mermaid_; imagine enormous stone buildings as tall as 100 stories. That was I was looking at, a city where the buildings were literally all carved from stone.

_This is Urbs in mare, Latin for the City of the Sea. _Karaannounced. She, like me was also marveling at the beauty of Urbs in mare. I was gasping, and my eyes were larger than oysters.

_Wow, now this is home! _I rejoiced.

_This is better than anything humans have to offer._ Kara added still in awe of what her eyes are seeing.

_Now I wanna live here, _I think back.

_We have our lives back on land though. _ Kara pointed out.

_You do, _I say as if I was actually going to live here.

_The thing is, Layla, I would be living here if I only hadn't chosen the way of the humans. Our law goes that if a mer's tail transforms to legs, they can never return to Urbs in mare permanently. I am so sorry you never had the chance to decide._ Kara explained.

_Why did you choose life among the humans then? _I inquired.

_I was young and reckless,_ Kara said.

_Please, let's not speak of it._

_We don't have to talk about it, _I gently let the subject go.

_Thank you, let's enter the city, _Kara proceeded. We entered in through at the city gates; a naturally made arch of stone.

_Where are you taking me to?_ I wondered.

_To Concilii iudicio, or the "Court of the Council." You really need to learn a bit of Latin girl._ Kara suggested with a smile.

_Yeah, I'll do have to do that, _I smiled back. I could already see that mers used a lot of Latin terminology. The city was teeming with bustle, mermaids everywhere, from all around the globe.

_So are there other cities like this? _I inquired.

_Oh yes, all over the world, but Urbs in mare is the capitol city of the realm of merfolk. _Kara filled me in.

_How come I never ran into other cities such as this on my way to Australia? _I interrogated.

_To access any city of merkind, it must be accessed with a portal. _Kara began.

_Today, we are going to Concilii iudicio to apply for your citizenship, where your name will be recorded in the_ _Nomina in libro, or the Book of Names, and you'll be given your totem. Your totem will then let you access Urbs in mare whenever you please, and other cities like it._

_So your totem is on your neck? _Ipointed to the pendant on a chain, around Kara's neck. It was a gold starfish, encrusted with sapphire stones.

_Yes, _Kara thought.

_Do all merfolk get one?_ I wondered some more.

_Yes, all merfolk Layla,_ replied as if tired of answering my numerous questions.

I could tell when we reached Concilii iudicio, because it was a bigger and grander than the photos of the U.S. congress building I had seen in school, it pretty much looked like a palace. Kara kept moving along toward the entrance, but you know me I had to stop and marvel at it for 10 seconds. I caught up to Kara, who was waiting with what appeared to be an escort.

_Please, follow me , _the escort ordered; he looked to be about 22. He was very muscular and attractive, his tail was a dark shade of teal. I couldn't keep my eyes of him. Kara even winked at me, like she thought I liked him. Later I would tell her that he was cute, but he was too old for me.

The escort took us to a room with a table, and 4 chairs. Who knew merfolk used chairs?

_Sit down and please wait, a council representative will be with momentarily. _The escort smiled.

I looked into his handsome eyes, and couldn't stop staring.

_Layla! Quit it, he can tell. _Linda sent a thought to me, and I hoped only me.

Before the escort shut the door, he grinned for about 3 seconds at me. I caught a glimpse of his name tag, it read Cory. As soon as he was gone, I was awestruck.

_He's a hottie!_ I shouted mentally.

_I could tell, you stared at him for about a minute straight, _Kara remarked.

_But did you see that? He grinned at me for about 3 seconds there, _I told Kara.

_Yeah, but not in the way you want him to Layla, _Kara advised.

_Oh,_ I thought.

_Yeah, so don't go leering at boys anymore. Okay?_

_Okay, _I obeyed Kara.

The next 3 minutes was very awkward. I sat in the room next to Kara who was trying to make the moment less weird by looking around the room; it was only making it worse. But I had learned my lesson.

_Hello, I am Aleesha Hardwick, a council representative in charge of registry. _Aleesha introduced herself.

_I am here to register Layla as a citizen. The council made me aware that Layla came from Hawaii, on the run from her adoptive human mother Amy. Is that correct?_ Aleesha asked

_Correct. I am Kara Aronson one of Layla's guardians. _Kara confirmed.

_Great. And most importantly I must have your honesty, her Mrs. Aronson, merkind depends on it. Did Layla indeed pass the test to become a citizen_? Aleesha said putting down a HUGE book and a small oyster on the table.

_On my highest honor, I tell truthfully that Layla did indeed pass the test of citizenship. _Kara verified.

_Where you a witness of that event?_ Aleesha interrogated again.

_No, but my cousin Linda Aronson whom was sent by the Council to test Layla was a witness. _Kara assured.

_Let me verify that, I'll be back soon. _Aleesha turned to exit the room with the book and oyster in hand.

10 minutes later she was back, and telling us Kara told the truth.

_Kara was truthful, but before I grant you citizenship Layla, the council has demanded that you see something. This way please_. Aleesha instructed us.

Aleesha led us down a long hallway until we came to a room with at least 50 rooms full of records; we went into the 7th room full of records.

_This room, is full of records about merfolk who have disappeared or have died from unknown causes._

_We just so happen to have a shocking article that may concern you Layla. _Aleesha stated, pulling out an article that I have seen before. There on the front of the article had a picture of a dead mermaid washed ashore with an infant in her arms. It was the same article I had found back at that abandoned lab on Rongelap Island! All I remember after that was looking into Kara's concerned looking eyes because… I fainted.

_She's awake!_ I heard Kara's voice in my head. I was lying in a bed, and you guessed it in a mermaid hospital. I groaned mentally.

A doctor swam over to look at me, he was about age 30 with an orange tail.

_Good. Now please nurse, get this young mermaid something to eat, _he ordered.

_On it!_ The nurse called back.

The nurse came back with cooked fish. Don't ask me how they cooked it, but I was curious so I asked Kara.

_How do you cook food under the sea?_

_Like this, _Kara answered holding out her hand, boiling the water in front of her.

I gasped; I now knew what Kara's special ability was.

_Nice!_ I complemented her.

_I know, thanks, _she said back and paused a moment.

_The Council made you citizen while you were out. _Kara commented_._

_But before I proceed, there is a part of the story that you didn't know, but the Council ordered I tell you. As you know when your mom washed ashore with you she died. We learned that your mother was taking you somewhere, and she was swimming during a storm. But then washed ashore and hit her head on a rock causing her to go into coma, but no one was around to save her so she died with you in her arms. The Council still doesn't know who your father is though, and where your Mom was taking you or why. _Kara clarified. Tears filled my eyes, and they were visible even underwater. I finally knew, 14 years later.

_Come here,_ Kara offered me hug and I took it. W hugged for a long time, until I had no tears left to cry. Only then did Kara finally let go.

_I didn't mean for today to be so emotional,_ Kara comforted me.

_It's not your fault, _I said back.

_Hey I have something for you Layla, _Kara told me grabbing a small oyster. Kara opened the oyster, inside was my totem. It was a small dolphin cut from sterling silver encrusted with blue topaz.

_I love dolphins!_ Was my first thought.

_Glad you like it_, Kara smiled back.

Kara put it on my neck and admired the dolphin.

_It brings out the hint of blue in your hazel eyes._

I nodded in agreement, while taking a bite out of my fish.

_How do you feel?_ The doctor asked.

_Slightly light-headed,_ I replied.

_Okay, just take this then, and you should be okay to leave, _the doctor handed me a cup and a pill.

_Thank you Dr. Weebly, _Kara thanked the doctor.

_Your welcome, _he said smiling back, and then turned to leave the room.

I swallowed the pill and gulped down salt water with it. Yuck! I hated the salt water!

_Ready to go chika? _Kara asked.

_Yes_, I okayed.

On our way out we told the nurse the doctor said we could leave. But of course the nurse had to verify that just like Aleesha did before with the Council. It was as if mer-people couldn't trust us, it was annoying!

Finally as we made our way out of Urbs in mare, I was glad to go home. I had a very crazy day, full of emotion. We left the same way we came in through the portal. Kara held her totem in her fist and said,

_By the power bestowed to me,_

_by the merfolk of the sea,_

_let me exit the realm of merkind!_

The portal opened, we swam through, the portal closed, and we were back where we started at the bottom of the trench.

We swam slowly up to the surface because of all that had happened made us very tired.

The sun was just setting below the horizon when we surfaced at 7:30 PM. We had been swimming for the past 5 hours; obviously that was a long time for Kara, but not for me.

We hurried to the rocks where our stuff was before it got to dark to find our way back.

Luckily we had towels so it didn't take long for us to transform from fluke to feet.

"Today was a LONG day." I expressed very lethargically.

"I hear you, Amen," Kara agreed.

It took us several minutes to walk back up the beach and back to Kara's house because we went so long just swimming. We practically had to learn how to walk again. I immediately hit the shower as soon as I walked through the front door. But Kara changed, and ordered pizza. Kara offered me pizza after my shower, but I only had 2 slices. Kara had 5 slices though because she was so hungry from swimming. Then Linda called…

"Hey, how are you?" Kara greeted Linda picking up the phone.

"Great." Linda replied.

"You want me to keep Layla over night?" Kara questioned.

"Okay I will then, see you tomorrow. Love you, bye." Kara hung up.

"Looks like you're spending the night," Kara told me.

"Okay," I answered.

"Hey do you wanna watch T.V.?" Kara offered.

"I don't care, whatever you wanna do," I yawned.

Kara started to watch _Oprah_, but I crashed.

_Back_in_Kauai._

Amy sent out the email, she was certain that Layla would see it. Maybe she already had. Was Layla nervous when she saw it? Amy thought so. Why wouldn't she be? Besides that though, Amy was a little baffled by the estimate the investigators gave to continue the investigation. Amy decided she would only fund it for awhile longer, and then if there was no luck she would take matters into her own hands.


End file.
